She is the beauty of a starlit night. Full of Grace and free of sin, she has been the devotion of kings and peasants alike, as well as the middle class of the 1950s. Men and women in all generations will call her blessed, because he who is mighty has done great things for her. To call her blessed is in accordance with scripture. To not do so makes you yet another anti-Christ, no matter how many times you rant, "Praise the Lord."

September 06, 2013

ACN News: Stop sending arms to Syria

Editor's note: US Secretary of State, John Kerry asserts that there are eleven warextremist groups in Syria, fighting as opposition armies, creating murderous hav-oc in the process. He additionally claims that the U.S. screened other oppositiongroups, and founded them reliable. Thus far, there is no NATO nation known tobe prepared to intervene in Syria's terrain ... but only from a distance.__________________________________________________________________While issuing an
unequivocal condemnation of the “destructive” use of chemicalweapons, Antioch's Melkite rite patriarch, Gregorios III, said that armed militarysupport, including intelligence, coming from outside the country remains the
mostserious threat.

In a statement issued
to Catholic charity, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Patri-arch Gregorios said that his
country’s death toll, along with its displacement crisis and infrastructure devastation, was
the direct result of military hardware sent fromoutside of Syria, dating as far back as March 2011, the start of the uprising againstSyrian head of state Bashar al Assad.

In Writing as president of the Assembly of the Catholic Hierarchy in Syria, PatriarchGregorios stated, “ … For the last 2½ years, Eastern
and Western countries havenot stopped sending weapons, money, military
experts, and secret service agents,along with Salafist fundamentalist gangs of armed thugs
and criminals … [who] have fallen on
Syria like a destructive new flood, far more dangerous than even destructive chemical weapons, whose use on our Syrian soil we reject on any pretext
whatever.”

He said that the weapons
and their impact “have caused” 100,000 Syrian deaths, the displacement
of millions of others, the destruction of thousands of villages, and harm to the
futures of millions of young people.

In renewing his
opposition to military intervention by the West, the patriarch stressed the need for peace talks, stating, “Contrary to the calls to arms, attacks, and
militaryinterventions, we enjoy listening to appeals from around the world
aimed at creat-ing an atmosphere of reconciliation, dialogue, humanitarian
solidarity, hope, for-giveness, and finally peace.”

Patriarch Gregorios’
appeal for an end to all arms shipments to Syria from all inter-national sources
echoes a similar call made in January, by Beirut Cardinal Bechara Boulos
Rai, (Maronite Patriarch of Antioch.) Accusations of foreign
military aid and intelligence entering Syria date back many months.

On Saturday, August 31st,
Syria’s deputy foreign minister, Faysal al-Mikdad, accused Saudi Arabia of being
“the main player” in financing and arming the terrorist groups who operate in Syria. It comes while other
reports state that President Assad has been increasing the purchase of arms
from Russia, with more sightings of ships traveling to Syria from a Ukrainian port used by Russia’s armed export monopoly.

Last week, Patriarch
Gregorios spoke-out against armed intervention by the West in Syria, stating
that it would “fuel hatred, criminality and fundamentalism.” In an interview with
Catholic News Service, he said, “Surely [military engagement] will spread like
a world war.”

In his statement,
Patriarch Gregorios said that prayer campaigns were taking place across Syria
in churches, homes, and youth movements. He stated, “We join in
thecalls for prayer that have been launched around the world for peace in
Syria, asthat is the real movement for solidarity with Syria.”

Patriarch Gregorios
praised Pope Francis’ appeal for peace and in particular for theday of fasting
and prayer for Syria on Saturday, September 7th, which is to be led bythe Pontiff.____________________________________________________________________

Aid to the Church in Need was founded in the ruins of WWII, during the Christmas

of 1947. It's chain of command literary begins with the Chair of Peter and it's the
Catholic Church's version of the historic Marshall Plan. As the title indicates, itsclientele are those in need ... sometimes in immediate need.

If you wish to be part of the ACN mission, even in something as simple as donatingMass stipends, feel free to contact Michael Varenne at michael@churchinneed.org.
You're also welcomed to contact ACN via:

patrickpontillo@aol.com

My sites are counterweights for a Disinformation Age overrun by manipulative liars. The objective is to be a catalyst in righting wrongs.

I actually did earn academic honors in economics, as well as in foreign languages and accounting, even to the point of being inducted into the Phi Sigma Iota honors fraternity. .

I've been published along side laureates and even have literature on a Harvard library shelf, at Northwestern Univ, and a few other places.

Living in the city taught me that city folk naturally hone their people skills and are far more friendly than country folk. In fact, country folk can be inarticulate, ornery, and clannish, in their shot-gun territorialism.

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